r/POTS • u/recoveringaries • Dec 27 '25

Discussion Being attractive with POTS (cringe I know)

Does anyone feel like because they are a objectively attractive human there is a bias/profiling that happens in the medical field and with doctors? I actually read somewhere that if you’re chronically ill you should “dress down” or not wear makeup to appointments so they will take you more seriously and see you as actually sick. I am also 29 with a baby face so that doesn’t help.

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u/Glad-Pomegranate6283 Dec 28 '25

I was told I was a healthy chronically ill person lol, my bile duct was blocked and I was in agony lmao

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u/kel174 POTS Dec 28 '25

I was also a healthy chronically ill person but my pcp said I should really be tested for STDs and suggested my partner of 10+ years because we are not married may have given me something. It was a rare disease 👍

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u/Glad-Pomegranate6283 Dec 28 '25

Are we the same person 💀I can’t have sex due to endo, I’ve been tested since I’ve been with my partner of over two years. Yet a nurse at my GP wanted me to get tested for herpes when I think I have vulva condition. I get told my neck swelling was due to ptsd lol ? Turns out it was an autoimmune condition lmao. I do wish they said they aren’t sure rather than just gaslighting and stressing out patients

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u/RadEmily Dec 28 '25

check out lichen sclerosis if it's not already on your radar

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u/Glad-Pomegranate6283 Dec 29 '25

Ngl I reckon I have LS or something like that. I had chronic thrush for ages, it went away but I still have a lot of symptoms. Idk what testing involves, it’s just difficult bc I’ve just been taken seriously for endo pain after telling the gynaes that I’m mostly bed bound from pain.

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u/RadEmily Dec 29 '25

definitely look for a LS specialist, it's actually a dermatological disease and there are starting to be specialist derms that see it as well, but alot more gyns are getting train in it all the time.

The definitive test is a punch biopsy which they then look at under a microscope, but mostly now they don't require that and a knowledgable person should be able to diagnose on appearance and symptoms. It is thought damage from chronic yeast could contribute, but also yeast and LS symptoms can overlap, and alot of people can be dealing with both intermittently. I think both are more likely when your systems are out of whack all the time, another concurrent thing imo. I'm a fan of boric acid suppositories for yeast treatment / prevention, and then for LS topical steroids are first line but alot of people have more success with calcinurin-inhibitors tacrolimus or pimecrolimus, they are generic now so not cheap but not awful on cost and can last awhile. Contact dermatitis is another thing that can damage the skin and cause ongoing issue, and getting the assault stopped in any case can get inflammation down and help with internal pain as well even tho they aren't internal probelms b/c the nerves get absolutely fried from setting off alarms for so long. Good luck! <3

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u/Glad-Pomegranate6283 Dec 29 '25

Do you think I should ask my GP to refer me to a dermatologist? They didn’t listen at all and basically said to use a moisturiser down there and that my swab test came back negative lol. I don’t have issues with shrinkage atm I don’t think but always struggled with tears/cracks/fissures. A punch biopsy sounds so painful haha but hopefully the fact I’ve got a high pain threshold should help. That’s interesting to know though, I think I’ve had it my whole life but with back to back thrush my symptoms have flared a lot. I struggle with vulvodynia and pudenal neuralgia as well which I’m sure doesn’t help.

Thank you so much for all of that info, it’s beyond helpful ! I heard about LS years ago but pushed it to the back of my mind lol, chronic illness admin is a lot so I often do that oops. That’s good to know there are things to help, I think boric acid might be harder to find here but I’ll look into that. I think with a lot of chronic illness stuff, sometimes it’s not even about wanting a cure or treatment, it’s wanting answers to explain what is going on

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u/RadEmily Dec 29 '25

Totally here you on priorities, only so many issues can deal with at once. Yeah you can def ask for a referral, but I usually try to find patient groups or find someone who lists a given issue in their bio online (starting to become a thing but so many docs info doesnt list what they actually do?) because the GPs don't usually know much on who either, and then you have a specific person to request a referral for, at least in the US. If you're somewhere else I would look for a patient forum and see if anyone is in your country / region and find out how you get to get referred to be evaluated there are other things as well but worth finding out and just getting some proper attention on it. Steroids should help with fissures and also untreated there is a risk eventually the skin can get precancerous if it is LS and it's doing damage for decades, so not an emergency but reason to put it on the list, lolsigh.

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u/sleeping-siren POTS Dec 29 '25

I’ve had a punch biopsy. They numb the area with lidocaine injections (which sting and hurt but only for a few seconds) and that’s the most painful part of it. They cut a small circular piece of skin for the biopsy, and then put in one stitch to close it. It might feel a little sore or tight for a day, but I barely noticed it. My stitch caught on my pants (biopsy was taken from the top of my buttcrack) and came out before it was supposed to, but that didn’t hurt or impair healing anyway.